This blog will feature interviews by POD Shopkeepers. A set of questions will be posed to each featured shopkeeper, with variation to ensure we get to know something special about each shopkeeper! Shopkeepers are asked to have fun when answering, so come back each week and see what exciting things they have to say!

Friday, February 24, 2012

As a good friend told me recently, "It brings out my inner silliness". I tend to take life too seriously and work too hard at my "real" job and zazzle has been the perfect escape. I have always enjoyed photography, but being able to create silly goofy t-shirts about anything that strikes my fancy has been so much fun.

I wore one of my new t-shirts to the grocery store last weekend. The cashier was in a grumpy mood and hardly said two words. Then just as I was leaving, she looked up at me and said, "Is that shirt a duck with a pickle?" Then she just started laughing. That made my day. I hope more and more people will see my designs and get a good chuckle out of them.

Zazzle is a... *

Hobby

Addiction

What advice would you share with a friend or family member if they wanted to join zazzle? *

The most important advice I would give is to be patient. I have learned so much in the past few years. Feel free to experiment. Sometimes my husband comes up with ridiculous ideas so I go ahead and try them and then, surprise. They sell. Our audience is so varied... almost anything can appeal to someone. Think about what products you put a design on. Just because a design is cute does not mean that it will work on every product. I love creating t-shirts. But lots of photography designs just don't work as well on t-shirts. I would strongly recommend their trying zazzle (and have done so to many friends).

What other PODs do you use? *

Zazzle

Cafepress

Wordans

What do you do when you are not zazzling? *

I enjoy reading, walking, photography, gardening, scrabble, and playing with dogs.

How many stores do you have on zazzle? *

2-4

Which do you prefer and why? 1 Mega Store or Several Niche Stores *

I have three stores and the all seem to grow to mini mega stores. They all relate to animals and nature and funny cartoons. The original store grew and grew and then I decided that I wanted to focus more on cartoons than on photography so I started the second store. When the second store got to a certain size, I decided to open a third store. The third current store has evolved into a semi niche store where I do custom pet designs. So my answer to the question is that I started out preferring a Mega store, but am now leaning toward a more niche store direction. But the niche store needs to have enough products to be worth going to.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Zazzle lets me earn money from my photography while I sleep! There's nothing better than waking upto a "largish" zazzle sale where I made $25 by doing nothing!

Zazzle is a... *

Part Time Job

What advice would you share with a friend or family member if they wanted to join zazzle? *

Don't Give Up.

It takes time and effort to make money at Zazzle. You can't expect to upload 5 designs on 5 products and make a fortune the next day.

What other PODs do you use? *

Zazzle

Redbubble

Greeting Card Universe

What do you do when you are not zazzling? *

When I'm not Zazzling I'll probably be uploading to one of the other POD sites, tweaking my Etsy store or contacting B&M shops - I just started out in the wholesale world with my photography!

How many stores do you have on zazzle? *

2-4

Which do you prefer and why? 1 Mega Store or Several Niche Stores *

I prefer several niche stores. I have my photography on one Zazzle store, my digital artwork on another and some vintage art on a third site. Ohh and some watercolor art on a fourth site. Although I've let those other Zazzle stores slip, only having time to focus on my photography store at Zazzle now.

I think it's best to "split things up" as I do find "big Zazzle stores" over whelming, and sometimes cluttered.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Oh my gosh, I love having Zazzle as an outlet for my creative side and as a way to bring in some much needed extra cash! When somebody buys one of my products I also feel grateful to have been there for them and their need/want for a certain item which they couldn't find anywhere else.

Zazzle is a... *

Part Time Job

What advice would you share with a friend or family member if they wanted to join zazzle? *

I offer them the advice to start out by making quality products...learn all you can (especially in the forums) about how to re-size pictures, add text, change background color, etc... When I first started I didn't know all those things, but have learned a LOT as I go along, and, as such, my newer products are better "put together" then my original ones.

What other PODs do you use? *

Zazzle

Redbubble

Imagekind (by Cafepress)

Other POD

What do you do when you are not zazzling? *

Lots! I have 2 other part-time jobs. I also love to spend time with my husband going on our "ventures", as we call them, especially to nature sanctuaries (I've got to take more pictures to use on my products!), Niagara Falls, the lake, etc... I also spend time in prayer to our Lord and Lady each day. Lately I've been doing a lot of cleaning up/clearing out of "junk" in our home....gosh that feels good when things are neat and organized!

How many stores do you have on zazzle? *

2-4

Which do you prefer and why? 1 Mega Store or Several Niche Stores *

My first store (Artists4God) is my "Mega Store"....it's gotten kind of "crowded" and I've started creating specific sets of Graphic Arts designs which is why I created the "Niche Stores". I like to neatness of the "niche stores" better but hardly get any traffic on them. So, I also like the large amount of traffic of my "Mega Store", which is, not coincidentally, where most of my sales come through. To answer your question better...both types of stores have their advantages and their disadvantages.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

What is the most important thing you have learned since starting on zazzle? *

I've learned it is important to persevere! I just started on zazzle a few months ago and while I love the designing process and flexibility, there is a lot I need to learn about promoting and marketing. Because I do see great potential with zazzle, I am motivated to rise to the challenge of that learning curve.

Do you consider yourself an Artist selling art, or a Business person selling products which happen to be art? *

Artist - every product is a perfect piece of art i have carefully selected and set to match how I feel they should be displayed

What do you enjoy most about zazzle? *

I love designing on zazzle. I love the flexibility of placing my art exactly in the way that I think shows it best - the ability to choose so many options myself, from stitch color to border color to text font and color - really makes it a fun process. I also love translating my images, flowers, for instance into products like shoes, ties and stamps. I do a lot of pet and dog portraits, too, so hearing back from delighted customers who have bought their dog's portrait on a mug or card is really great.

When working on zazzle you... *

enjoy listening to music

What is your favorite thing to do when not Zazzling? *

Take photographs! I think I see in photographic images, so when I have time, photography is what I do. I also work full time and am a single mom with one kid in college and one about to be in college, so family is also important to me.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

What is the most important thing you have learned since starting on zazzle? *

I guess I would have to say how to use Corel, though I still consider myself an amateur at photoshoping I've learned heaps about neatening up & enhancing my sketched images & in my experience the customers definitely prefer colour.

Do you consider yourself an Artist selling art, or a Business person selling products which happen to be art? *

Artist - every product is a perfect piece of art i have carefully selected and set to match how I feel they should be displayed

What do you enjoy most about zazzle? *

The community of artists all buoying each other up while they strive to create & sell their masterpieces is definitely the best thing about being a zazzler!

When working on zazzle you... *

enjoy listening to music

What is your favorite thing to do when not Zazzling? *

My three children are my life, so if I'm not doing housework or something zazzle related then I'm usually spending time with at least on of them.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

What is the most important thing you have learned since starting on zazzle? *

Actually I already learned this through microstock, but since Zazzle shows the same results, I guess I can post it as an answer anyways...

I like to make products that I personally like and feel good about, but there are always designs I really like and ones that are ok. Just ok. I often find (both, on Zazzle and microstock) that you can never tell what sells. Products/images I expect a lot of may not sell at all, others that I did not expect much of, have become best sellers. Different strokes for different folkes I guess.

Do you consider yourself an Artist selling art, or a Business person selling products which happen to be art? *

Artist - every product is a perfect piece of art i have carefully selected and set to match how I feel they should be displayed

What do you enjoy most about zazzle? *

Designing business cards. I've been adding other products as well, but business cards give me the most pleasure and satisfaction.

When working on zazzle you... *

enjoy listening to music

What is your favorite thing to do when not Zazzling? *

Photography (still life and insects) and designing. I love to learn new things, so I spend literally every free minute in designing and learning new things related to it.

Friday, February 10, 2012

It's allowed me to have a bit more "play money" to continue with one of my other artistic past times - gaming miniature figurines painting, mainly with the Warhammer 40,000 and Fantasy lines from Games Workshop.

Zazzle is a... *

Hobby

Full Time Job

Addiction

What advice would you share with a friend or family member if they wanted to join zazzle? *

Be persistent. Zazzle isn't a get rich quick scheme. It takes work and dedication to keep things fresh and inviting.
Be creative.
Look everywhere for inspiration.
Listen to other shop keepers advice, use what you can from it and pass it on to others.

What other PODs do you use? *

Zazzle

Spreadshirt

What do you do when you are not zazzling? *

I spend a lot of my non-zazzle time reading and watching movies (I love horror stories, sci-fi, fantasy and medical and psychological thrillers). I play with my dog, Taboo. I draw. I paint miniatures. I cook and bake up a storm the rest of the time.

How many stores do you have on zazzle? *

1

Which do you prefer and why? 1 Mega Store or Several Niche Stores *

I prefer to have 1 store - mainly due to my lack of time to play around with setting up another store with new products and designs. Maybe one day, I'll be able to open other shops just for my digital art and photography, but for now - everything is all in one shop.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

It gave me a place to go...to continue...when I thought this business was over for me. I am still rebuilding, and in a way it's a never ending process. But it's a good, positive process.

Zazzle is a... *

Part Time Job

What advice would you share with a friend or family member if they wanted to join zazzle? *

It's really an awesome way to use your creative side, but you have to work it like a job if you want to make any money at it.

What other PODs do you use? *

Zazzle

Cafepress

Imagekind (by Cafepress)

What do you do when you are not zazzling? *

Work out, cruise Facebook, play online poker.

How many stores do you have on zazzle? *

10-15

Which do you prefer and why? 1 Mega Store or Several Niche Stores *

I used to have a mega store on another POD. Trying niche stores here. I think it was nice to have one website to send everyone to...but niche stores make it possible to focus on one thing at a time and market that to a specific demographic.

Monday, February 6, 2012

What is the most important thing you have learned since starting on zazzle? *

The most important thing is to keep at it! I spend time on Zazzle every day. I've had some wonderful sales which have shown me the enormous potential this site has for artists/illustrators like me.

Do you consider yourself an Artist selling art, or a Business person selling products which happen to be art? *

Artist - every product is a perfect piece of art i have carefully selected and set to match how I feel they should be displayed

What do you enjoy most about zazzle? *

I thoroughly enjoy the "surprise" aspect of Zazzle! I have great fun checking my "Earnings" tab on a regular basis and it is SUCH a thrill to know people are buying products with MY art on them!!

When working on zazzle you... *

enjoy listening to music

What is your favorite thing to do when not Zazzling? *

When not Zazzling, I most enjoy creating new drawings and paintings, either as commissions for other people, or as illustrations that I know I can use on Zazzle, as well as on the stock photo sites where I have galleries.